Dance Reviews

Oct 11, 2009 - The dazzling American Ballet Theatre II thrills in Reno

By Jack Neal

Handsome and supremely talented young dancers are always a delight to behold. The twelve young (from 16 to 20) and exciting dancers who make up the American Ballet Theatre II are simply dazzling and, oh, so pristinely fresh. To have achieved the level of maturity as dancers each of these young artists has achieved and to be waiting in the wings for the opportunity to move up to American Ballet Theatre’s principal company is - in young lives - already a brilliant accomplishment.

And accomplished and brilliant is what the ABT II experience is.

The company performed in Reno Friday night (10/9/09) at Reno’s Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. The audience was small, but so large in heart and appreciation for the crystalline precision, the elegance of line, the excitement of energy and the superb ensemble and individual work, what the audience lacked in numbers it balanced with a near fanatic enthusiasm. And so it was an evening of dance to be cherished.

ABT II was sponsored in Reno by the Sierra Nevada Ballet which shared the stage briefly with its guests from New York. Dancing to Jerome Kern’s “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” with choreography after Hermes Pan’s original, Ananda Bena-Weber and Domingo Rubio created a wash of nostalgia for the kind of lyricism Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers once brought to the screen.

“Interplay,” which opened ABT II’s portion of the program, is a vivacious piece choreographed by Jerome Robbins to the music of Morton Gould. With translucent lighting by Ronald Bates, clean, streamlined staging by Jean-Pierre Frohlich, and smart-looking costumes by Harret and Elizabeth Aymong a highly energized corps de ballet of eight flew through Robbin’s spit-and-polish inventions with ease.

The middle portion of the program was anchored by two classical offerings. Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” Act II Pas de Deux was sublimely danced by Brittany De Grofft, an elegant ballerina, and Calvin Royal III, an exceptional danseur and partner. Riccardo Drigo’s “Le Corsare” Pas de Trois was danced with dash by Meaghan Hinkis, exhibiting a breathtaking technique, Brian Waldrep and Telmo Moreira – both astonishingly athletic dancers. Wes Chapman staged both excerpts after the choreography of Lev Ivanov for “Swan Lake” and the choreography of Marius Petipa for “Le Corsare.”

Danced to the music of Beethoven, “A Taste of Sweet Velvet” is the enticing title attached to the program’s closing segment. Set to the Molto Vivace movement from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with a nod to the considerable musical re-arranging of Beethoven’s score by Jack Eddy (he – or someone - calls it “musical landscaping”), “A Taste of Sweet Velvet” is an exhilarating piece of no-holds-barred virtuoso dance. Melanie Watnick’s handsome costume designs are a major factor in the sumptuousness marinating “A Taste of Sweet Velvet,” with Brian Sciarra’s dramatic lighting also playing a major mood-setting role. Jodie Gates’s choreography radiates Beethoven’s destiny with heavenly inspiration - a star-crossed reminder of the pleasures brought about by the enthralling of movement we call dance, and the riches of a company called ABT II.

All this troupe’s dancers are remarkable and deserve notice for brilliant work. In addition to those already mentioned, Katie Boren, Skylar Brandt, April Giangeruso, Courtney Lavine, Colby Parsons, Irlan Silva, and Alberto Velazquez also impress.

Credit Sierra Nevada Ballet and its artistic director, Rosine Bena, for bringing ABT II once again to Reno. For future Sierra Nevada Ballet concerts and events call 775-783-3223.